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Table of Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1 Is This Any Way to Choose an Advisor? 1
Bad Financial Medicine 3
A Murky Industry 7
“You Should Meet My Guy” 11
Key Points 17
Chapter 2 Wall Street’s Dirty Secrets 19
The More Things Change . . . 23
“You Don’t Understand . . .” 28
Misplaced Interests 33
Brokers and Advisors 35
Wall Street Brokers versus Main Street Consumers 37
Peddling Products 39
Omission versus Commission 42
Key Points 45
Chapter 3 The Wall Street Whitewash 47
Image Is Everything 49
Shopping Shortcuts 52
Vegas Rules 59
Key Points 65
Chapter 4 Hold Your Nose: Other Advisor Options 67
Bank-Based Advisors 70
Private Banking and Trust Departments 72
Asset Managers 74
Insurance Salesmen 76
Fee-Only Planners 78
Other Options 79
Technology’s Triumph 81
Key Points 86
Chapter 5 The Case for Independent RIAs 89
The Trouble with Fee-Only Advisors 92
The Case for Independent RIAs 94
Buyer Beware 99
Do All RIAs Live Up to Their Title? 102
Disorienting Disclosure 105
RIAs: A Good Place to Start 115
Key Points 115
Chapter 6 Our Lazy Brains: Why We’re So Bad at Choosing Advisors (and Investing Our Own Money) 117
The Gut versus the Mind 121
Salesmanship 101 125
What You See Is All There Is 128
My Advisor Is Handsome, So Why Am I Broke? 130
Why We Stink at Managing Our Own Money 136
Key Points 142
Chapter 7 How to Be Your Own Investment Advisor 145
Don’t Let Costs Mug Your Returns 156
How to Win the Game by Not Playing 163
Software-Powered Investing 179
Math First, Emotion Second 183
Why You (Probably) Still Need a Financial Advisor 184
Key Points 185
Chapter 8 Choosing an Advisor: Know What You Don’t Know 187
You Are the Family CEO 191
Core Principle: DUTY—Clients before Profits 193
Core Principle: SAFEGUARDS 198
Core Principle: PROFESSIONALISM 201
Decoding your Advisor’s Answers 205
After the Interview 215
Key Points 217
Chapter 9 Fees and Ice Cream: Baskin-Robbins Got It Right, Why Can’t We? 219
Chocolate and Vanilla 221
Baskin-Robbins 31 3 Flavors? 223
Key Pricing Ingredients (Building a Custom Sundae) 227
Chapter 10 Change the Game 231
Why Wait? 240
Afterword: Advisors in Perspective 243
About the Author 247
Index 249
